Category: * News / Noodle News

Maruchan Chicken Ramen Noodle Soup Ice Cream

Over the last year or so, I’ve been experimenting with infusing bread with instant noodles and their seasonings and making pizza with instant noodles. What’s the next logical step? Well, ice cream of course! Perhaps not logical, but it seemed like something to try. This is the first of many different ice creams I’ll be making which include noodles and seasonings from instant varieties. ...see full post

Happy National Noodle Day 2022! Cup Noodles Bath Bomb!

Happy National Noodle Day 2022! Cup Noodles Bath Bomb!

October 6th is National Noodle Day! I knew it existed, but every year I find out when it’s too late to do a special post or something to commemorate the day. This year, Nissin Foods USA overnighted me a box especially for National Noodle Day – and it arrived the day before! So, I’ve spent the day before National Noodle Day shooting video, doing special research, and sitting in the bathroom. Well, it’s been fun, and now it’s time to show you what you may have or have not heard about – the Nissin Cup Noodles Soup Soaker. It’s a bath bomb which came in this special box in a noodle cup. What’s more is it’s kind of chickenny. Yeah. A chicken broth bath bomb. Watch it fizz!!! ...see full post

Instant Noodle Recipe Time – Episode 1500

Instant Noodle Recipe Time - Episode 1500

A number of years ago, I thought I’d see what would happen if I cooked up some noodles and ran a camera as I did it. It’s kind of funny – a lot of the large projects in my life have started with ‘let’s see what happens.’ I had thought for years the idea of shooting video while I cooked noodles for reviews was a purely idiotic idea; I would have to edit every video, which would take so much more time than the way I did things. Well, I found a way around that. ...see full post

Prima Taste Laksa & Chili Crab Pizza Party!

Prima Taste Laksa & Chilli Crab Pizza Party!

Firstly, thanks to Prima Taste for sending some samples! I thought this would be a nice duet of pizza pies to try. I know – ‘why do you do these things?’ Because I have to in order to feed my curiosity to see what different combinations and different vehicles will deliver when it comes to foods. Today it’s singaporean pizzas! Let’s do it! ...see full post

Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles Ramen Pizza Party!

Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles Ramen Pizza Party!

You knew it was bound to happen, and now it has. I spent so much time making different things with Nissin Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice Flavor – but I never made a pizza. Weird? Of course! Insane? Naw, not really. Since I always like to do a duo of pizzas, I also made one with Nissin Fire Wok Sizzlin’ Rich Pork – that’s my favorite of that range. Well, prepare yourselves – some fascinating waters are ahead. Sometime I’ll use lecithin or egg as an emulsifier and grind up noodles to make dough for pizza – that will be interesting. But not I think today. Here we go. ...see full post

Buldak Habanero Lime & Quattro Spicy Ramen Pizza Party!

Yep – I’m at it again. Who hates pizza? Maybe if you only ate crummy pizza every day for months, sure – that guy would. But I don’t make crummy pizzas, I make interesting ones that are really quite nice to behold and chew on. Today’s pair are no different. I’m using the noodles and sauce as a base for two ‘south of the border’ inspired new varieties from Samyang Foods. Thanks go to Samyang Foods for sending samples as well as MH from the Ramen Junkies group for sending some too! Let’s check out what happens when new Buldak meets pizza! ...see full post

Exotic Pizza Party! Indomie Pizza! Bibim Men Pizza!

Exotic Pizza Party! Indomie Pizza! Bibim Men Pizza!

Welcome to my newest installment of my experimentation with instant noodles and breads/pizza dough! This one was a real win IMHO – both came out exceedingly well! First, I made an Indomie pie which presented some questions – how do I make the sauce? Butter. How about a cold pizza with Paldo Bibim Men? Never baked a pizza that would be refrigerated before serving. It’s summer and really hot here right now. Cold sounds good. I’ll give you the recipes for both which are pretty simple. Let’s hit it! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2023 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2023 Edition

Often overlooked but always present, the instant noodle cups is a very common ‘on the go’ form factor for instant noodle varieties around the world. These are my favorite cup varieties from reviews up to #4120. Don’t see a variety you like I’ve not tried? Contact me! Also, here’s a link to all of my top ten lists! With that, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Cups Of All Time 2023 Edition. ...see full post

Stuffed Shin Black Bread!

I know you’re wondering ‘why does he do these things?’ I pose the opposite question – ‘why don’t you do these things?’ I’ll be honest – I’m playing with food. It’s something different to try. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but I’m finding many times it does work and it works pretty well! Let’s make some stuffed bread with a popular variety! ...see full post

Shin Ramyun & MyKuali Tom Yum Pizzas!

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but here we are. It’s pizza time. I could go into detail to start with, but let me just say – this pizza is wonderful and I’ll tell you how to make it. Probably the best bready thing I’ve ever made. Before we start, let me say this also – if you’re looking for a pizza crust from instant noodles, you will not find that here. What I’ve found is that instant noodles are best as is and not screwed around with too much. A filling for bread, but not part of the dough.  Let’s begin. ...see full post

Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles Stuffed Bread!

Pumpkin Spicy Cup Noodles Stuffed Bread!

Yeah it’s June – mid june. Mid towards later June. But I don’t care about your temporal insecurities. ANY TIME IS TIME TO USE PUMPKIN SPICE CUP NOODLES. Period. Chronometrics be damned! I figured cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin spice cup noodles. I know a lot of people don’t get the bread thing, but it seems to me that bread will be the gateway drug that leads to pizza, and maybe other stuffed bread?  Let’s do this. ...see full post

Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein Stuffed Bread!

Sapporo Ichiban Chow Mein Stuffed Bread!

Recently, I thought it would be interesting to revisit my fascination with bread – and ramen. I’ve found that baking bread with a bread machine isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – but using one to make dough is very cool! In the past, I’ve infused instant noodles directly into the dough; something that produced something a little funky. In my last endeavor, I used a mold shaped like a fish and we took the dough out, put it in, filled it, then added more bread on top. Since then, I’ve tried making a pizza – which had excellent results! I even used gluten free pizza dough to make my wife a pizza and that honestly was even better. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition

Lots of people enjoy bowls full of noodles from around the world. They often come with a utensil, and all you need it hot water. For a quick meal, they’re hard to beat insofar as convenience. Some bowls however go above and beyond a utilitarian sense and are truly gourmet. This list is comprised of my favorite bowl varieties from all reviews up to #4120. All scoring is done prior to garnish being added. Do you want me to review something I haven’t? Drop me a line! With that, let’s peruse my top picks on The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodle Bowls Of All Time 2022 Edition! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

Most of the time, instant noodles tend to be pretty good. Companies tend to create products that they think people will like; why wouldn’t they? Well, sometimes there’s a product that I can’t believe anyone would like. These are my least favorite varieties out of 4,120 reviews. This is definitely a list you really don’t want to be on. One thing to note is that many of these products have been on the market for awhile, so there’s definitely people out there that enjoy them. Everything on this list is reviewed before adding any garnish. Hope you enjoy The Ramen Rater’s Bottom Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition! ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

It’s been twenty years since I started this crazy journey of reviewing instant noodles. I never even envisioned I’d be doing it for twenty years; it was just something to try out way back when. There have been ups and downs in the past – and recent past. I ended up getting COVID (as did the rest of my family) in early January this year. It wasn’t too bad in itself, but the repercussions were. I ended up in the ICU for blood clots in my lungs. It’s happened before when I slept ten hours on a cramped flight – but this time didn’t make sense as I walk a whole lot. Anyways, I’m better now, but it’s been a tough go to be sure. I hope all of you reading are happy and healthy! ...see full post

A Time Honored Family Ramen Tradition

A Time Honored Family Ramen Tradition

Today is a special day. It was the first day that my (at the time) future wife and I moved in together. Since then, we’ve made this recipe for instant noodles time, and time again. It’s a tradition. Traditions are important, like monster trucks and motocross rallies; like fresh air, happiness, and warm summer nights. Allow me to proudly present the last ramen hack that you will ever need in your arsenal – an arsenal of freedom to taste excellence. ...see full post

D8 THC Cup Noodles Professional Mukbang

D8 THC Cup Noodles Teardown & Mukbang

First off, thanks to The Fat Hipster for sending these over. Honestly, more like curses to you, sir! This really did me in. I read after doing this THC (the stuff that gets you high from smoking marijuana) infused noodle that a gunny has 20mg of THC and that’s a lot for a ‘seasoned marijuana user.’ This has 100mg and it’s been maybe 18 months since I had any. I live in Washington state, and I could just walk to the store and legally buy marijuana. Apparently this D8 stuff is also legal for now, as the D9 comes from cannabis and the D9 somes from hemp, and hemp is legal everywhere. Crazy. Anyways, let’s give this a try. Most of the pertinent info will be in the mukbang below. ...see full post

Out Of The ICU! Maruchan Feel Better Recovery Ramen!

An older package of Maruchan Chicken flavor Ramen Noodle Soup

You may have seen that I was in the hospital this week. I can describe the whole thing in the video below since it has been typed a lot of times and I had a TON of blood draws in the past few days and to put it short, they had to get them out of my dominant hand and it’s a little sore after being poked so many times, so my apologies. ...see full post

The Definitive Guide To Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodles

The Definitive Guide To Nongshim Shin Ramyun Noodles

Definitive Guide Series – Maruchan Ramen Noodle SoupSamyang Buldak * Nongshim Shin Ramyun * Indomie Mi Goreng
UPDATE 3/15/2023 – Added Shin Vegan cup
UPDATE 3/12/2023 – Added section referring to new Shin Gold and Shin Green US variants.

Back in 1986, a South Korean company called Nongshim 농심 (which translates to Farmer’s Heart), introduced a product called Shin Ramyun. Since then it has been one of the most popular varieties around the world. In this post, I’ll do a deep dive into the product – a tear down of the package and it’s contents, my tips of preparation, and some things you might not know about it. While not my favorite variety I’ve tried, chances are it may be yours. I run a group called Ramen Junkies on Facebook and the topic and focus of the bulk of posts on there surround this product. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

One thing I’ve noticed – spicy is in. This list tends to be the most popular on my website The Ramen Rater every single day. People just want to get all the spicy they can get. Why is that? Spicy is intense. Spicy compliments flavor. Spicy will knock you on your butt. The challenge and chase for the endorphin rush that ultra spicy things give people is extremely tempting for many. These are the spiciest varieties I’ve had the opportunity to sample as of my 3,950th review. Ready to burn? Let’s get to The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition. ...see full post

The Ramen Rater’s 2022 Subscription Box Buyer’s Guide

I thought hey – it’s the last day of November – perhaps I should do a roundup of subscription boxes I regularly test out with prices and coupon codes – maybe people would like that. Well, let’s find out! I regularly get samples of four different boxes. The prices listed in the video are a snapshot from November 28th, 2021 and so could change. You can use the coupon code THERAMENRATER on any of these for a discount. If you’d like me to check out other subscription boxes that you know of, drop them a line and tell them to contact me! ...see full post

Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition

The Ramen Rater's Top Ten American Instant Noodles OF All Time 2022 Edition

Formerly the Made In The USA list, The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time still is comprised only of varieties manufactured in the United States. This year’s list is comprised of all the best varieties from the United States in my reviews up to number 3,950. These varieties are mostly easily found as they’re not imports. Lots of great stuff to try here as well as links to find it on Amazon. I’ve also included some announcements at the bottom so make sure to check those out as well. With that, let’s check out The Ramen Rater’s Top Ten American Instant Noodles Of All Time 2022 Edition! ...see full post

Nissin Sends New Products Including Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice – USA

In August, Nissin announced that they would be producing a pumpkin spice flavored Cup Noodles product. This is really quite daring; very different and out of the norm, but a risk worth the reward. Pumpkin spice is an extremely popular flavor, and even for those who abhor it, it gives them reason for tantrums. Such an emotional response to something like this is worth a lot. ‘You hear they made a pumpkin spice Cup Noodles?’ ‘What? That’s ridiculous!’ Then they tell someone who tells someone – that’s gold right there. As Momofuku Ando once said ‘when you hear what consumers are saying, you’re hearing the voice of God.’ ...see full post

Nissin Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles: Everything You Need To Know

Nissin Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles: Everything You Need To Know

Alright – so the Nissin Cup Noodles Pumpkin Spice Flavor is now appearing exclusively at Walmart stores around the country. People’s reactions have been ranging from inquisitiveness to utter disgust. If you’re inquisitive, I’ll tell you right now you should go out and get some because they’re not going to be around for long. I asked for some samples and Nissin USA sent me one. Just one. They were apologetic, but they didn’t have many left – it’s a very limited run. ...see full post

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ramen Bars Recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ramen Bars Recipe Umai Crate

I often get samples of www.japancrate.com’s Umai Crates – they’re boxes full of Japanese ramen and extras – and one of those extras are recipe cards. I thought hey – here’s an interesting one and decided to share it today. By the way if you want to get an Umai Crate, check out the Japan Crate site and use THERAMENRATER as a promo code at checkout for a discount! These would make really great holiday gifts for people who are into Asian food and culture – lots of neat stuff to find in these boxes. ...see full post

Halloween Candy Kimchi Ramen Bread #ramenbread

Now I know what you’re thinking. ‘He’s gone mad, The Ramen Rater, he has.’ Not in the slightest. No more than usual, at least. I thought I would try something and see what would happen. Making bread is a lot of fun and I’ve never made any kind of really sweet sugary bread before and kimchi ramen would have a tangy and acidic bump to it, right? Well, so here we are. Tons of candy in the house and a bread machine wanting to make ramen bread. Let’s give it a try! ...see full post

Halloween 2021 – Sriracha Ramen Franken #ramenbread

Well, shoot. This was going to be super awesome – at least that was the plan. I had a box of nice Aces Sriracha Ramen Noodle Soup bowls and I thought hey – let’s make some flour out of the noodles and a neat load of pure #ramenbread. Well, it didn’t work out and when I realized that, I started adding things… ...see full post